It was meant to be a quick appearance for the police commissioner, a ribbon-cutting at a new Harlem outpost of Applebee’s.

Only Tiki Barber was running late.

The television host Dr. Mehmet Oz was already there, the third member of the slated crew of celebrities that included Mr. Barber, the former Giants running back, and the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly.

The event on Monday was among the more banal in Mr. Kelly’s recent public schedule, a smile-for-the-cameras photo opportunity that prompted the question: Why was he there at all?

The declared reason for the news event was the opening of the 117th Street restaurant that had been certified as very green by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington-based group that administers such certifications. A moss-green ribbon hung across the entrance. Dr. Oz called it “a huge achievement.”

Randee Caldwell peered in the window of the restaurant hoping to catch a glimpse of the celebrity doctor. “I watch him everyday before work,” said Ms. Caldwell, a 54-year-old home health aide. “I love Kelly, too.”

Was she glad to see a new Applebee’s opening?

“I usually eat at the one on 125th Street,” she said.

Finally it was decided to proceed without Mr. Barber. Mr. Kelly approached the ribbon first, standing at the center of the doorway flanked by Dr. Oz and Zane Tankel, the owner of dozens of Applebee’s franchises in New York. Mr. Kelly held the oversize black scissors with both hands as the other men reached in.

“I am a big fan of Applebee’s — as I am of every restaurant in New York,” Mr. Kelly said, smiling, after the ribbon fluttered to the ground in two pieces. “Zane and I go way back, too,” he added, saying Mr. Tankel was “very supportive of law enforcement organizations.”

The two dined together, he said, though they were not able to eat at the new restaurant on Monday because it had yet to open. They instead shared lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria at a New York City Police Foundation event.

“Tiki Barber!” someone called out suddenly. “There he is,” another said. The running back strolled up and smiled for the cameras under the chain’s awning that exclaimed “Welcome Back!” Cameras flashed away.

After the news conference ended, Mr. Kelly was approached by a tall man in a bright hat.

“Commissioner Kelly, I hope you run for mayor next year,” said the man, P.J. Dooley, as he grasped the commissioner’s hand. Mr. Kelly thanked him, but did not respond to the suggestion.

When later asked by a reporter about the encounter, he demurred. “I don’t have a reaction to that,” he said before hopping into a car. He was late to the next scheduled event, the details of which the police did not describe.

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